Time to shift gears towards the front stage - Sponge mode on :)

Well, this DIY bug is really addictive, lol. After recently completing my sub setup, I am now looking at moving on towards a new front stage.

Current setup:

Axiom M80 mains, M60 center, QS8 heights, M2i wides, QS8 surrounds.

Thoughts:

I really like what Axiom has to offer for what I spent. For a completed store bought speaker, they are affordable and offer a tremendous value for their performance. The QS8's are really an excellent design and lend to flexible placement and a great dispersion. They also fit into narrower rooms well. I am dealing with a room that is just over 10' 6" wide, so obtrusive speakers are not ideal. The M80's have the ability to play loud, while staying clean. They image fairly well and don't have any glaring shortcomings (relatively speaking).

Hopes:

So why upgrade? Well the Axioms can be a little on the bright side at louder listening levels. They also come across a little on the thin side. No matter how much I play around with placement, they just don't image as well as I'd like. And well, why not?

These new speakers will be powered off my receiver for a bit, so they need to be easy to drive and be able to sing without a ton of power. I just sold my Earthquake Cinenova and have been pleasantly surprised with them being driven off my 3009, so I'd like to stick with this if possible. I have very good hearing and rarely find myself getting much louder than -5. I'm not interested in reaching ear bleeding levels.

My breakdown is about 70% HT/ 30% music. I am pretty critical with my music listening. I really enjoy my hi res music and while I know you can't have your cake and eat it too, I would like a speaker that's great with HT and excellent with music.

They also need to be able to match up pretty close to my Axioms. I won't be replacing my height, wide, or surround due to space constraints.

As much as we all love overkill, it's really not required for my space. First row is at 12' and second row is 17'. So dual 15's or the like is really not required. Just a solid step up from my M80's.

I love a challenge, but this setup needs to be proven and easy to replicate. Not looking at forging new paths with crossovers etc. I'll leave that to you audio gurus.

Suspects.

The group buy with BMS is nice timing and if possible would be nice to build something off of this.

AE. I really like these drivers and would love to implement them if possible. (Like the idea of a SEOS12/15 mated up to a TD12/15x).

I'm not sure on what size to go with, so that is open. I'm thinking a 12 would be plenty, but 15 is certainly open. That is about as large as I want to go.


I love knowledge and am open to any and all discussions that would lead to a greater understanding of what will work, and why.

Travis

I looked at those Scott, but haven't seen a lot of builds with them (that I noticed anyway), so I passed them off. Maybe it's worth taking a second look at. I'm not dead set on a SEOS, but I do like the reviews they have gotten lately.

Edit: I'm not sure at $2400.00 for the set I want to go that route, lol. I'd like to keep this build around 1800.00 tops if possible. If I need to stretch I will, but would prefer not to.

I'm a huge fan of the JBL's. I've run a few of their drivers in SQ vehicle installs. I've also heard nothing but good things about AE's quality (just not sure I want to play the waiting game).

Erich, do you see a reason to upgrade to the 2226 over the B&C driver? How does the midbass compare?

So here are the 3 proposed options.

First is the easy tried and true

Zephyr or Sentinal
Price 390 to 406 + materials
Total 1300.00 ish

Second Option

H290c waveguide 50.00
Pi xover with upgraded caps 175.00
B&C DE250 CD 128.00
JBL 2226H 200.00 used
Total 2000.00 ish

Third Option

Seos12 waveguide 28.00
DNA360 CD 75.50 (possible upgrade to the BA750 if worth it)
AE TD12X 300.00
xover with upgraded caps 175.00
Total 2000.00 ish

So based on my requirements in the OP, which direction would you steer me? Are the 2nd and 3rd options worth the price of admission over the first?

I want to like the AE's but am leary about the wait time. It's not like I need them right away, but you know how it goes when you get a build in your head.

It's back to the diminishing return on investments. Are the JBL or AE going to sound 35% better than the B&C? Are any of them going to sound significantly better than my M80's?

New to new, yes. I have run across quite a few of these used for under 200.00. So 600 compared to 900 for the trio.

That's a good point. I'm not thinking I really need crazy low extension out of these. They'll be crossed at 80hz for movies so there's probably not a need with my sub stage. For 2 ch music I usually listen in pure mode and don't really need crazy extension there either. I'm fairly happy with my M80's set to large. For hi res music I leave the sub going but use music mode on my SMS1 which drops the sub level a few db's.

I'm mostly after a huge soundstage with clarity and imaging (picking instruments out is much more important than overall extension), and less fatigue.

Thanks, good information.

I'm happy going with any of these as long as they build upon what I currently have. The Axioms will be impossible to sell so they'll just go in my master bedroom, so no recouping of funds here like I was able to do on my sub build.

How does the Zephyr compare to the Tempest?

Thanks guys. Talking with Erich is sounds like the Tempest/Sentinal is the way to go with a little better midbass. I don't need the extension as most of my use will be HT, and crossed at 80.

It sounds like the DNA360 is about as good as it gets for anywhere in that price range, and that's the most important thing for me. I really need the wall of sound and clarity to be top notch.

Well I'm getting closer to a winner.

I've decided I'm going to stick with 12's as there's just no reason to go any bigger in the size room they are in.

So it's down to the SEOS12/TD12M combo or the Fusion Tempest. I'll let you guys make the call.

Lulz. The problem I am going to have is with width. I'm trying to stick close to a 30 degree main setup and I will be well over that with 12's. The 15's will put me pretty close to the outside walls and pushing 45 degrees. Now I still might be able to get away with that due to the controlled directionality of the waveguide.

Wow, there is a voice of reason in here.

I'm thinking you're probably right. I've been very content with my Axioms, so if it's a noticeable step up as everyone says it will be, I'll be perfectly content.

It sounds like the AE's will integrate well with the Tempest Xover, so worse case scenario down the road I can always upgrade drivers. I'm just praying these play nice sonically with my Axioms height, wide, and surrounds. I'll be bummed if there's a big difference there.